6

Ariella

Thornhill, 

Vankar Island

Northern Isle Region, 

Kingdom of Ashtarium

October 11th 6414

10:53 pm

"What do you think of it?" Lily asked as she turned the music off. We were listening to one of the singles from the album, Anarchy in the UK. I had been dancing to the music, Lily watching me as I danced. It had been an hour since we had returned from exploring the town. Neil and Ben had taken us to the drifter district- the main hub downtown. It was a five-block walkable stretch of the town's historic stone and brick buildings, with more antique stores, boutiques, and some name-brand shops. Preparations for Remembrance Day were in full swing, so most of the shopkeepers were hanging up decorations. Neil had decided to take us to his favorite diner in the town, Harold's drive diner where he claimed the best hamburgers were made. Then we stopped by Griffin's Park where we played on the swings till it got dark. After Lily and Ben decided that playtime was over, we went our separate ways not before I shared my contact with Neil. If we were going to be partners for the Dungeon raid, we needed to strategize and plan on what days we would go to the Dungeon. I had a great time and was glad to have finally made new friends. I sighed as I got off the floor by the fireplace and sat on an armchair. Lily was seated on another one.

"I think it rocks," I said. I picked up the glass of synth blood that Hector had made for me when we returned. As much as I was full of hamburgers and ice cream, there was one thing that my body craved more than anything. I had been fighting against the hunger and as the night wore on, it was getting stronger. Lily had sensed my pain which was the main reason she had wanted us to return.

"You know they were responsible for revolutionizing the punk movement back then," Lil said. "There was no one like them in the history of popular music. Not even till today."

"I can see that," I said. "You know I was never fond of music the way you were. Probably because my Mom would force me to take piano lessons when all I wanted was to play with the other kids."

"Yeah, I remember," Lil said. My heart ached at the thought of my Mother. Unlike Father and my brothers-whose bodies I had seen burnt to ash- Mother was the only one whose fate I was unaware of. I was unable to find her before Sanders got to Lil and me and took us away from the burning Palace. I remember fighting Sanders on going back to get her. How angry I was at the thought that I had abandoned her. 

"You didn't abandon her." I raised my head at Lil. She wasn't looking at me but at the flames on the fireplace. "That's what you were thinking right? That you abandoned her. Well, let me remind you that you didn't. I was the one who dragged you out of there. If anything, I was the one who abandoned her." I felt the tears coming before a drop landed on my lap. There was a sea of endless emotions that I was fighting against. It didn't help that my Vampirism heightened it all to a maximum point. I didn't know what I would ever do without Lil. It was only her presence that had kept me from exploding into a blind rage and I could feel it bubbling underneath. I only knew serenity because Lilith was in my life. And this was one of the moments when I was glad that she had little access to my train of thought.

"Thank you, Lil," I said. I told myself again that there was no point worrying myself over Mother. She was gone, just like the rest of my family. I finished my drink and cleaned my eyes of the tears. If I wanted to, I could simply close myself off from my emotions. But that was also not good for me. I loved feeling things, no matter how deep they were. Being around Lil taught me that.

"Oh! Girls there you are." We turned around to see Sanders by the front door to the living room.

"So I heard you girls went to town," He said.

"Yes, we did," Lil said. "Oh! And speaking of the town, did you know that someone was murdered not long ago."

"Wait, how do you know it was a murder," I asked. "I thought he died in the dungeons."

"I just do. It's a gut feeling."Lil said. I didn't question her for more answers. Lil was the type to go according to her instincts. "Plus ever since we've got to this town, there's been this weird vibe."

"The Association gave me information that there was a stampede of Magibeest in the Dungeon. He got caught in it." Sanders said. Lil got off her chair and rushed to Sanders. She shoved her fingers at him. I wasn't surprised at the strength she could use to shove Sanders. If it was any other human, Sanders would have smacked their head off their shoulder, but Lily wasn't your average human.

"You said this place was the safest place for us," Lil said. "That no one would think to look for us in here." Sanders coldly looked down at the finger Lil was shoving him with. "And yet, as soon as we arrive someone just happens to be dead."

"Thornhill is the safest place for the princess," Sanders hissed. "The R.E.T.U will never think to look for her here. All you have to do is keep the Princess safe while you explore the Dungeon. That's something you can do, right?"

"Of course," Lil said.

"Good. we won't be here for long. Most likely a year should be enough for the preparation," Sanders said.

"Preparations for what," Lil said. I hated being in the dark, and I knew there was an ulterior reason why we had come to this town, but Sanders insisted that it was for our good not to know yet.

"You'll know when the time is right," Sanders said. "But all we have to do is keep our heads down and stick to our cover story. We're only here for a year and that's it. You, Lilith, will do your job in protecting the Princess from all dangers. And I'll do my job." Lil growled but said nothing. She took her hands off Sanders' chest. Sanders rolled his eyes before turning around and leaving.

"I guess it's time to go to bed," I said. Lil nodded. We walked hand in hand up the stairs to our room. I waved Lil goodbye as she went to her room. I watched her as she continued walking up the stairs to her room. I stood outside my door, using my ear to listen to Lil's footsteps. After the door opened and closed, I began to open my door.

"Help me." My body froze, not out of fear but an odd sense of Deja vu. Something... or someone was behind me. I slowly turned around to see the boy from the morning standing outside my door. He wore the same cardigan sweater and grey shorts. Now I could see his hair and it wasn't brown but midnight black. He was still translucent making it harder to see most of his appearance. I was assuming it was a boy but it could easily be a girl with the way its hair was long and curly.

"It hurts." My mind went to the Ice cream shop owner who spoke about how the mansion was thought to be haunted. I remember asking Lilith if she believed in ghosts. The reason I had asked was that my mind had gone to my family. If they were gone, was there a chance that a little bit of them was left behind? Did they have regrets that kept them here in the material plane? But I quickly dropped that thought. That small desire had been one of my most selfish desires and it made me feel ashamed. I focused my mind on the incorporeal being in front of me.

"How can I help you?" I said. There was silence. It stretched for a long time before I began to panic and wonder If it was all in my head. Then the little boy pointed toward the direction of the study room.

"Answers...help....too dark...it burns" And suddenly there was a bright white light and I was caught in it.

****

"Ella! Ella! Hey! Are you alright," Lil's voice snapped me out of the daze I was in. I looked around my surroundings, my senses immediately taking note of it. The fog in my mind was gone though some parts of my memory were still not recovered. Over the past hours, it felt like my mind had been somewhere else, going through the motions. The last thing I could fully remember was the ghost from outside my room. There had been a white light, and then everything was blank. Now that the fog was gone, she could barely remember being waken up by Lil, having breakfast, and then both of them meeting up with Neil and Ben outside of the Dungeon Association building. They were now inside the building, in front of a receptionist's desk. The plan was for Lil and I to get our license so we could go straight to the Dungeon. But right now we encounter an unexpected problem.

"I'm fine," I muttered. Lil eyed me before she turned back to the lady at the desk. She was an average-looking human in a black two-piece suit.

"As I was saying, unless you have awakened any form of power, we can not give you a license," The lady said. "And since our sensor doesn't pick up anything in you, I'm afraid I can't approve of you." Ah! Yes. The problem was that Lilith was not a cultivator. She did not cultivate martial or magic power. Yes, Lil was just a typical average human. At least that was what the human lady was thinking. Having lived with Lil for eight years of my life, and knowing her, I knew that Lil was no ordinary human. Lilith Kain was a superhuman without the use of cultivating any sort of special energy like we cultivators do. She had always been that way. From what I understood, Lil possessed some kind of special physique that was on the same level as someone who cultivated martial power.

"That's preposterous," Ben chided in. The young man with the black dreads, in a silver combat uniform that was typically worn by martial art cultivators. I was wearing the same combat suit but mine was colored cyan. "I sensed an incredible surge of power within her yesterday....wait! You're not hiding your power, are you?" Ben turned to Lil, who shook her head.

"Sorry, but the sensor's right," Lil said. "I don't do that cultivation bullshit or whatever..." Lil kept quiet for a second to make Ben digest her words. "....but I can still kill most of the warriors in this building." She said it so casually with a cold gaze that changed the temperature in the room. Which was followed by some kind of pressure that descended on everyone except for me. The pressure was enough to put all the Raiders that were in the room on alert. Even Ben got caught up in it, unable to do anything. The crystal ball that was used to sense the presence of energy in someone cracked upon the pressure that was emitting from Lil.

"Such Murderous intent," the receptionist said looking at her sensor device. "How many lives have you taken,"

"A...few..." Lil said. The woman couldn't believe her ears as she checked out Lil with her senses. She would observe the same thing anyone sensitive to the flow of energy would. Lil had no Magical energy or any kind of Internal energy within her.

"Follow me," The lady...Alethia was her name...turned to a fellow worker behind the counter that separated the Association members from the other side of the room. She whispered in her co-worker's ears, and then walked around to a door and came out of it. "Come with me." Lil and I looked at each other and then followed her with Neil and Ben behind us. We entered an elevator that took us down. Alethia brought us into a room and requested that we wait there for her. And then she was gone. I observed the room which looked more like a gym with a fighting podium in the center. There were cameras on the walls that were probably used for observation. Neil was pacing around the room both he and Ben giving Lil the side eye. Of course, they were nervous around Lil. She had released her killing intent on them like it was nothing.

"Are you not a cultivator," Neil asked. Like Ben, Neil had sensed some form of power when they first met Lil the other day. So he couldn't believe what he had heard.

"Do I look like I have magical power or aura," Lil said. Magical power was the result of refining the Mana one awakened from within their soul and by cultivating this energy, one could master the art of sorcery. In contrast, aura on the other hand was a different sort of energy created from Mana. Lil had no access to any of those energy sources. And yet, there was no denying that she possessed some form of power because Ben and Neil, especially Ben could feel something from her. Lil gave her devilish smile before walking up the podium to check out the place. Soon enough, the door opened and Alethia was back with someone else. It was a young man who didn't look like he wanted to be there. He was wearing a black and orange leather combat suit with armor padding on it, a sword hanging by the belt on his pants. His brown hair was sleek back, and he had a couple of scars on his face, giving him a rugged handsome feature. I could sense the powerful presence that emitted from him as he walked.

"Hmph" Lil muttered, not pleased with the way the human was flaunting his presence around them.

"So who will I be testing," the young human said. His eyes landed on me and then Ben, the smirk on his face was getting annoying. "The Vampire girl doesn't seem bad or the Lycan boy. He seems talented."

"Sorry Maximus, but you will be facing Lith Rochester," Alethia said. Maximus turned to face Lil with a frown, not pleased with the news. He walked up the podium and pointed at Lil.

"You want me to fight a girl," Maximus said. "She can't even cultivate and you want me to test her. Seriously Alethia, If you weren't so favored by the Director, I would strike you down for wasting my time." Alethia said nothing but smiled at Maximus. He grunted and turned to face Lil.

"So you want to be a Dungeon raider," Maximus said.

"Not really," Lil said. Her expression was calm and relaxed but I could tell that she was pissed off with Maximus behavior.

"Not really," Maximus said. "Then why are you here if you don't want to be a Raider," Lil smiled, her eyes glinting with a crazy desire.

"I guess right now I just want to take that sword of yours," Lil said pointing at the sword that hung by Maximus waist. 

"Huh," Maximus said. "You're funny. Ok...Let's do this. I won't use my Battle art to make it fair for you." Fool. I shook my head at his dumb mistake. Battle arts was an understanding of actions and movements aimed at giving Warriors the tools to achieve a certain outcome when it comes to combat. It was similar to how Sorcerers-Mana Cultivators- require spells to manifest their Magic. 

"Alright," Lil said. She got into a battle stance, her left fist pulled in front of her while her right fist was closer to her chest. The air around her turned cold as the space got heavier due to her presence. Lil disappeared from the spot on which she stood, appearing right in front of Maximus. She threw a left punch that was too quick for Maximus, hitting him in the face and then followed by a right uppercut to his stomach that sent Maximus flying up. Lil then grabbed his leg and threw him back on the ground with immense strength. The shockwave filled the entire room from Lil smacking him on the Podium and then with a devilish grin she began using him as a ragdoll smacking him on the ground. I turned around to see the look on Ben, Neil, and Alethia's face. It was a look of petrification, like they were seeing something so unknown. I didn't blame them for feeling so out of it. It was disturbing seeing a human without awakening any Magic or Martial power manhandle a being who had reached the peak of the first stage of cultivation. Maximus was an Expert rank as a Martial cultivator. He was stronger than anyone in the room due to his experience and physical prowess. But none of that mattered to Lilith. Lilith was not your average human. Without the use of any special energy, Lilith possessed superhuman strength that was on par with a Master rank Cultivator at the minimum. The poor Maximus stood no chance against her. After Lil was done sweeping the podium with Maximus, she threw him out of the podium like he was nothing. She then walked down the podium to where Maximus had slopped to the floor from the broken wall. Lil picked up the sword from him, pulling it out of the scabbard. 

"Whew! An Enchanted blade," Lil said. "A sacred grade blade. Nice." Lil added it inside her space ring around her fingers. She faced Alethia, her expression back to the neutral state. "So did I pass?"

"Yes, of course you did." Alethia said. "That...That was a...an odd outcome." She pulled out a card and handed it to Lil who took it from her. "As of now, you're a B rank Dungeon Raider. Congratulations."

"Thanks," Lily said.

 -

The basement of the Royal Palace of the Ashtarmel family

Yorkside region, Pandemonium

Capital of the Kingdom of Ashtarium

August 4th 6406

12:49 am

Ever Since Lily had woken up in the Dread forest, where time seemed to stand still, all she could remember about her life was nothingness. She could not remember how she got there or why she was there. All she knew was that she did not want to die. She wanted to survive. No, she needed to. Because there was something that she was after. Something she was searching for. And she thought if she left the forest, she would never find it. So she stayed there. She built a home for herself and survived there. She fought and killed the monsters that inhabited the forests. Till she became the top predator. All she cared about was surviving until that thing that she was waiting for would find her. So you can imagine how she felt when those groups of men in black military clothes arrived in her territory. She could sense their blood lust and their intentions toward her. So she fought against them. She ripped their flesh apart, tore their hearts from their body, and killed as many as she could before they managed to subdue her. The next thing Lily knew, she had woken up in that orphanage where they had tried to coax her out of her flight and fight instincts. They had used all kinds of methods to turn her from feral and wild into calm and compose and in a way it had worked. She had shown signs of intelligence that was beyond a ten-year-old girl. She could remember words and languages that she couldn't remember in the forests. But her rage was still there. She had only buried it underneath the calmness they had pushed into her. Rage that slipped out here and there. And when it did, she had a hard time reining it. Burying it again underneath the calmness. But that girl...that little girl had somehow managed to calm her down. What had happened was that for some reason, Lilith could easily connect mentally with the girl. She had been able to see into the girl's heart and what she had felt had been something pure. But Lilith had a hard time trusting it. She might be human now but she was still a Vampire. Still a blood-sucking leech. A part of her knew that she had to kill the girl. Make sure she didn't awaken and give their kind more reign over the world. But she had been unable to.

"Psssttt! Psst!" Lily rolled around the bed to the window and was shocked to see the Princess there. She waved at Lily and opened the door to the cell. Lily got up from the bed shocked. How did she- She was hit once again with the girl's innocence. Lilith could hear the thoughts going through the girl's head. How she sincerely felt against her being locked up in this prison.

"You coming or what." The princess said. Lily did not waste time getting off the bed and out of the cell. The princess was wearing a black cloak with a hood and she handed another one to her. "Put this on." Lily took it and wore it. She followed the Princess to the Elevator.

"How did you get past the guards up there? What about the cameras." Lily asked. But she knew the answer before the girl answered. She saw the memory as the Princess smiled and bought out a device from her pocket.

"I dealt with the guards upstairs by the elevator." She said. "And this little piece of tech is able to shut out the cameras. But only for a little while. We don't have much time." They got into the elevator and it began to go up. Lily couldn't believe what she was seeing. Why. Why was a Vampire Princess helping her?

"Why! Why are you helping me?" Lily asked even though she already knew the girl's answer. "And please don't say it's the right thing to do."

"Isn't it." The Princess said. "I don't know why you're here. Or why Father would approve of something like this. I don't know. I'm still young and they won't tell me anything. But I look at you and I see that you're in pain. And for some reason, I feel that pain too. I couldn't just ignore it. Couldn't just ignore you." The girl blushed and looked away from Lily. Lily did not want this girl's pity. When she had the chance, there was no doubt that she would have to kill the princess. The elevator finally stopped and they both quietly walked out. Lily was not surprised to see the guards knocked out on the floor. Their necks were twisted. They were temporarily dead at the moment. The little girl had some skills for someone of her age. She may not be awakened, but everything about her was preternatural.

"You did this," Lily asked. The princess smiled and nodded, proud of her actions.

"Started combat training weeks ago." She said. Only weeks ago. To be able to take out two Vampires- even New Bloods from the looks of them- without her awakened vampirism, she must be very powerful. I guess that was what it meant to be a Noble-blood vampire. How proud would she be when she grew up and awakened to her Etherborn status? When she would become stronger than the average human or vampire and hold it over them. Lily knew that was what the world ran on. Unfairness. Even she was a prime example of it. The princess quietly led them through the passageway, away from the prying eyes of the security camera and Royal guards. She was really good at sneaking around. She led them to what looked like the kitchen and began to gather food from the massive cool storage.

"What's your name." She said. Lily was unsure if she should give the girl her name. "I'm Ariella. But you can call me Ella."

"My name is Lilith Kain. But I prefer to be called Lily." Lily said. Ariella's mouth opened.

"Lilith. That's the divine mother's name." Ariella said. The divine mother which Vampires worshipped. Lily had no idea why Father had named her that. Maybe she would ask him when she met up with him again. There was a flash of pain and an image of her father but then the image was gone before she could even see it fully. That was what was waiting for her back in the forest. Why she had to go back at all costs? For her family to find her. "And Kain. Hmm. That's strange."

"What! What's strange about-" The girl closed her mouth with her hand and pulled her down from the window. The sound of footsteps passed by them and from the sound of their movement, Lily knew they were the Royal guards. She breathed a sigh of relief when the sound became far away from them.

"That was a close one-"

"Is it now." A voice said. The girls jumped around to see the King, himself sitting on one of the kitchen tables. His legs were crossed on it and he was helping himself to what looked like a bowl of ice cream. How had he appeared here? Lily had not sensed his presence at all. She could feel power wheezing out of the king and making goosebumps on her skin. The older a Vampire, the stronger they become. Lilith didn't understand how age correlates to their strength but that was how it was for most Etherborns, not just the Vampires. Which meant that the King must be very old. Perhaps the oldest being in this Palace. What his age was, Lily could not dare to fathom. The only thing she knew was that fighting him was not an option.

"Father, what are you doing here?" Ariella said. The girl did not seem scared, only surprised to see her father.

"Why, Ella. This is my kitchen. Surely I can come and go anytime I like." King Rafael said.

"Yes but-"

"Besides I did not want you doing anything foolish." The King said. " Say like helping Lilith here go back to that despicable place like the Dread Forest."

"I'm not going back to that cell, " Lily growled. If it meant that she had to fight him to escape. Then she had no choice-

"I have no intention of you going back there." The King said.

"What." Lily and Ariella said at the same time.

"It was my intention first thing in the morning to take Lilith out of the cell and give her a place here at the Palace." the King said.

"Really Father," Ariella said so excitedly.

"Me, live among you Vampires," Lily said.

"You might not know this Lilith, but I knew your Father, Jonathan Kain." the King said. She was shocked to hear her Father's name come from the king's mouth. Another Image sprang up, this time more vivid. She remembered the way he looked. The same black hair as hers. The color of his skin was darker than hers. His smile. And the scar on the left side of his face. A scar that resembled the one on her lower lips. "He was one of my oldest friends."

"What do you mean, was," Lily said.

"I'm afraid to tell you that your father is dead." the King said.

"Dead..." No. That was a lie. "You're lying." It can't be. Father's laughter rang alongside the pain of trying to remember. "Father can't be dead. He promised. He promised to come back. To bring me back home." The strength in Lily's leg wavered and she fell down. She would not cry. She would not cry, because Father was still alive-

"I'm afraid it's true. Your father was a powerful man." The King said. "A powerful man with dangerous enemies. Enemies who were after both of you."

"Perhaps you are one of them." She growled. The King shook his head.

"I was not an enemy of your father and neither am I to you." The king said. "Your father and I were very close friends. Bonded by something stronger than blood ties. I knew your father was in danger and because of that danger, your father ran away from me. He did not want to bring it close to me because it was his job to protect me. He was my protector due to the blood contract we shared." Blood contract. Father had signed a blood contract with the King. "For three centuries I did not hear a word from your father. And then he sent me a message. A message to help him protect you. Keep you safe. It took me a century to find his dead body. It took me another century to find you. I swear, the Dread forest was the last place I would ever guess for him to hide you. It makes sense when you think about it. Time is irrelevant in a place like that." Lily couldn't believe what she was hearing. She tried to remember anything beyond her stay in that forest but she couldn't. It was all blank. After that Blankness was blood and death. If her father was gone, did she really want to go back to that? Was she comfortable going back into that darkness? Into that carnage of kill or be killed.

"What do you want from me," Lily asked.

"Stay here with us. The palace is the safest place in the Kingdom." The King said. "You won't have to fight anymore. You can have a normal life." A normal life. Lily could not see herself living any sort of normal life. 

"C'mon think about it," Ariella said. "You can stay with me. As a Princess, I have a whole wing of the Palace to myself. You can share it with me. There are lots of rooms not being used. It gets very lonely especially when all the staff and guards are gone for the night." She was so excited by it that Lily could feel it. There was something about her that Lily couldn't put. Something pure and...

"Fine. I'll stay." She said. If her Father was gone, if he was dead, perhaps staying here might give her clues as to how he had died. But Lily knew it wasn't going to be easy finding out the truth. The only one who might even have the answer might be the King. So how was she going to get it? "But don't expect me to be cleaning up after you," Lily glared at the King.

"Oh, don't you worry? I know exactly where your skills can be best used." The King said with a devilish grin.